Thank you for translating. After I read your translations I couldn’t wait anymore and went out and bought the Vietnamese version of this book. They don’t have it here, so I had to have it shipped express from Vietnam to the US!! I didn’t eat or sleep and finished it in over 1 day and have read it 5 times already. It is so good! It made me laugh, make me cry, I hope the drama lives up to the book. I’m so excited for the drama to come out! Even though I already read it, I’m still interested to see your translated version. My brother doesn’t read Vietnamese, so I’m having him read your translated version. Thank you for all your work!!

I only have time to work on this on the weekends :(. I’m sacrificing a lot of my personal time working on this novel already. I can’t spare any more time because I’ve got a lot of things to take care of in my personal life as well.

I wasn’t complaining… Please take this as compliment … Your write ups are so good that it really hurts to wait for it… You are doing absolutely wonderful job. I am ( I’m sure every one in this blog) really grateful for the translation. I appreciate it 🙂

I’d argue that BZH loves HQG the most out of all the characters in the novel. You’ll see in the story that BZH is very strict, but when it comes to HQG, he’s always willing to bend the rules to help her. Where he fails is that he mistakenly thinks he can save both the world and HQG. To BZH, the safety of the world is the most important thing, even more important than HQG and himself.

The imprisonment occurs at the end of the story where BZH thinks if he becomes HQG’s prisoner and lets her punish him however she wants, it’ll lessen her resentment so she won’t do bad things. In the trailer when BZH is HQG’s prisoner, she asks him if he loves her and he answers it doesn’t matter if he loves her or not. Maybe the English dubbing is kind of bad so it’s hard to understand :D.

BZH is always willing to sacrifice himself if he thinks he can save the world through his sacrifice. If there’s a weakness to BZH’s personality, I’d say it’s his kindness. It’s this kindness that made him accept HQG as his disciple, thinking he can help save her from her tragic fate. This action unknowingly starts the chain of events in the tragedy. And later on, the more he tries to protect HQG and covers up her mistakes, the worse everything becomes.

The story right now is setting up all the characters so it feels like nothing’s going on. However, the story will pick up and become very heart-wrenching and good. Actually, when I first read this novel, I dropped it a few chapters in because it seemed boring :P. I’m glad I gave it another chance because I ended up loving it. And now I’m translating it :D.

Ah ha, you are translating this novel cause you love the book and wallace huo. Since i can’t speak chinese, i’ve to see the thriller in english version. Cause ‘the action’ looks exciting,i just drop the dubbing which is sometimes really difficult to catch the diallogue. Bzh should have special feeling for hqk since the beginning. Kindness only is insufficient for bzh to have much willingness to change hqk’s tragic fate.

I love this book, but I also love a lot of other books so yes, I’m translating this particular book because Wallace Huo is BZH :D.

All readers have different interpretations, but this is mine in regards to BZH’s feelings specifically based on HQG’s age throughout the story. If this important fact is overlooked, it’s easy to mistake poor BZH’s good intention and he’ll seem bad. HQG is 13 yrs. old right now. It’s true that BZH has shown preferential treatment for HQG, but it’s partly out of sympathy and partly because he admires such tenacious courage in a kid.

BZH is very kind, and this fact is reiterated many times throughout the novel. It’s normal for him to feel sorry for HQG. All the other students seem to belong somewhere and have family and friends, and some even have great backgrounds like NMT. HQG is the opposite. She’s an orphan from nowhere, not to mention everyone shuns her because of her inauspicious aura and tendency to bring misfortune to everyone close to her. He foresees that her fate is tragic so he decides to try his best to change her fate. Some readers don’t like BZH because of how he treats her later on, but for me, I’ll always like him because of the kindness he shows HQG in the beginning. When she needs someone the most, no one helps her except for him.

Another reason why HQG stands out in BZH’s eyes is because of her tenacious courage. She says she wants to be his disciple, and she lives up to that promise by training very hard to catch up to the other students. The progress she makes is huge because she studies for 6 months and yet makes it to the semi-final of the Xian Jian Games, not to mention she literally risks her life because she wants to win so badly. BZH knows all of her hard work, her intense training, her fervent wish to be his disciple so he decides to take a chance on her and try to save her.

BZH’s feelings for HQG is complicated to explain clearly. I’d say it’s a gradual transition. First it’s sympathy for a young orphan. Then after she lives with him for several years as his disciple and becomes in a way his closest family, the sympathy turns into genuine care and concern. It’s not until much later near the end of the novel when HQG has grown up, I believe she’d be around 18-20??? yrs old that his feelings turn into romantic love for her.

But then of course, love is very complicated to explain. There are many facets of love. It’s particular difficult to clearly define for BZH and HQG because they’re together for so long. For BZH, at what point does sympathy turn into genuine care and concern and then turn into romantic love? All readers have to make this judgment themselves.

lidge, thank you again for all the hard work. It allows us Chinese illiterates to understand and appreciate the novel. I love Wallace too, and admit I am trying to find out more about the novel because of him acting in the drama. I totally concur with your essay above. His biggest mistake is his kindness and thinking that he could conquer Fate (but then without his mistake, there is no Hua Qian Gu story). And I agree with you that love comes in many forms. What I am curious is at the end of the story, is his love romantic or brotherly. Personally, I would prefer the latter because I find it hard to think that a man who has spent years to reach that ‘immortal state’ still incapable of controlling his passions and lust. 🙂

The author is vague on BZH’s feelings so it’s up to each person to interpret how BZH feels. Personally, I believe he has come to love her in the romantic sense by the end of the story or he wouldn’t be destroyed by what happened to her. I agree that someone who’s reached the highest level of enlightenment and is emotionless like BZH wouldn’t easily fall in love, but do remember that HQG is a special case. She’s not like the other women, she’s his fated calamity. Her fate and his fate are destined to be linked together.

If I remember correctly from the novel, only 5 immortals managed to reach the highest level of enlightenment. They form a close group consisting of BZH, Zi Xun, Dong Hua, Tan Fan and Wu Gou. Zi Xun falls deeply in love with BZH, but he doesn’t return her feelings. Her love leads her to commit crimes against the immortal realm so she’s banished, and she ultimately joins the demon realm. This breaks up the friendship between BZH and Tan Fan because Tan Fan loves Zi Xun and blames BZH for not doing more to help Zi Xun. Wu Gou’s story arch is interesting because he’s also tested with a fated calamity similar to BZH. Like BZH, he chooses not to kill the girl and eventually, he turns demonic. Later, he tries to kill HQG because he knows she’ll ruin BZH, but BZH rescues HQG in time.

Only 4 eps have aired in the drama, but I’m guessing the drama will be similar to the novel in regard to this part. Already, we see Tan Fan resenting BZH for not doing anything to help Zi Xun, and Zi Xun is committing crimes that will eventually causes her to be banished. And in the trailer, I saw Wu Gou accusing HQG of being BZH’s fated calamity and trying to kill her. I’m not sure how the drama will deal with Dong Hua because he doesn’t have a story of his own in the novel, unlike the other 4 in the group.

Thanks, lidge. I suppose you are right. She is FATED to be ‘his calamity’. And the calamity is ‘falling in love with each other’. I saw the ep where Bai Zi Hua checked past records and none escaped their ill fates. That sets the story up for the tragedy? I heard Mo Bingxin is supposed to be another man and not Bai Zi Hua in disguise.?

I believe the calamity is not falling in love, but it’s when that love forces BZH and HQG to take actions that they know will destroy them but they still do it anyway.

In the novel, Mo Bing is a minor character who appears briefly toward the end. Supposedly, he looks similar to BZH. I’m not sure what the purpose of the character is except to confuse everyone why he’s even in the story.

Can’t believe I wrote such a long essay, reminds me of when I was in school, shudder!! shudder!! :D. When analyzing BZH’s feelings for HQG, do take into consideration her age.

The novel mentions BZH’s master briefly in that he gave BZH the Emotionless sword, but the novel starts out with BZH already being Chang Liu’s sect leader for many years already. The old man in the trailer is BZH’s master, but I don’t know if it’s a flashback or he’s still alive in the drama and then dies and BZH replaces him.

Chances are Wallace won’t like my nonsense writing :P. I don’t even understand what I write sometimes :D. Much better if I just fly to China and chase him. My strategy to win his heart will need to be swift and powerful like the Emotionless sword so poor Wallace won’t know what hit him :D.

Hahaha,your first novel should be ‘the journey of secret lover’. You could put your strategy,planning etc to your novel. Who knows the tactic is applicable for ones who won’t give up catching her/his dreams

Hahaha,what a dream! Hopefully, wallace reads your blog and fulfill your wish…..
By the way, have you ever contacted fresh guo guo that you are translatting her novel? To be honest, i don’t like reading novels. I usually read comics..
Once i’ve got books from friends: sam kok, hong long meng with beautifull pictures (canfonian). Currently, i couldn’t find those kind of books anymore. It seems people likes reading manga’s……
Ooo, perhaps is there journey of flower in manga version?

Patricia,
They do have Journey of Flower in manga version, only volume one is out though. I’ve read the Vietnamese version, but of course there is also the original Chinese version. They are currently working on the next volume. From what I know it is approved by Fresh QQ.

Hey Lidge! Thanks for spending so much of your time on translating and sharing this novel! I’m an avid fan of yours from now and forever!! I opened my wordpress account just to comment here! Thank you! Thank you so much!
If you can refer other novels to me, I’ll be really grateful! Since I’m an avid reader, I keep on trying to find good novels. Thanks again!!

So sorry I couldn’t reply sooner :). You can find a lot of good info about Chinese romance novels at SSB http://www.books.shushengbar.com/. What I do is if I like any book, I’ll search to see if the author has written anything else. That’s how I find a lot of good books.

I’m soo happy that you replied! Even I do the same thing, if I like any book by a particular author, I search and read all the books written by that author! I have already read Gu Man’s Shan Shan, Come & Eat!, watched the drama and I watched Silent Separation too. I shall read the rest of the books you recommended… 🙂 🙂

Klutzyfeli has continued where I left off and will translate until end of August. She’ll post updates at her blog so please check https://rainingstardust.wordpress.com/. Mina, the other translator on our team, wants to finish translating the book, but she can’t work fast because she’s busy. I can help from time to time with a few chapters.

We want to finish translating the book, but I don’t think it’s possible for us to finish before the drama finishes airing in September. The beginning of the drama is somewhat different from the book to introduce all the characters quickly, especially BZH. However, I feel that the drama will probably gradually follow the novel based on the trailers and filming pics that have been released so I don’t think you’ll miss much if you haven’t read the latter part of the novel.

I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to you all who spare your precious time to translate this novel. It doesn’t matter if it couldn’t be completed on time. It’s a big volume and understandable. Thank you once again for all the efforts.

Lidge, can you explain the background of Shuo Feng more? Does he like HQG? He seems so secretive and I can’t seem to read him. Sometimes I get the feeling like he likes NMT but sometimes it seems he is interested in HQG. If you can explain I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks.

In the novel, there are 16 holy instruments that when united will resurrect the Demon God. One of the holy instruments is the Nuwa Stone. SF is actually a fragment of the Nuwa Stone that turns into human. He doesn’t like HQG or NMT because he’s a stone so he doesn’t have any feelings. He’s nice to HQG because she’s a nice person.

thank you for translating this book drama. I am so addicted to this drama and impatiently waiting for the dvd version. again, thank you, and please spare some of your time to continue translating this book.

Thank you for translating it’s been such an enjoyable read… it clears up so many areas the drama cut out or didn’t bother to explain… but I loved the drama too… it was a great watch!!^^ thanks again for translating… hopefully you’ll have some spare time to translate some more of the book!! ^^

Hello Lidge,
How are you? You have been away for sometime now. It hasn’t been long since TJOF finished airing, but it seems like so long back. I was just missing those old times.. hence I came here to take a peek again. Hope to see you soon. Bye! Stay well!! 😊😊

Hiii… I am also doing well, I got a few singing gigs which paid really well, so I left my job hunting and went for them 😛
Now I am again in the process of searching, but I’m not finding any satisfactory ones 😦 [kinda tensed about it too]

I’m a girl from India. I have been interested in Chinese culture and stories right from the time I watched the disney movie Mulan.
After I came upon this novel, I find it hard to take my eyes off the screen while reading each chapter.
Your translation skills are amazing!
Desperately awaiting further chapters!

I’m so hooked! When I got to the end of what has been translated I was crying for more. I saw it’s been left alone for months now. Is there anyone finishing the English translations or a detailed summary?

Hello Lidge. I’m fr Indonesia. i can’t read or write Mandarin, so very thankful for your translation. I’ve watched the series. But looks like the book story much more interesting. Every day I peek to see the next episod. Wish u hv extra times to translate it again.you are so awesome… 😊

Will you be translating any more of this novel? I really enjoy reading this and also the drama was excellent! Thank you for all your hard work and I look forward to more translations if you are doing it again.

thanks so much for translating this novel. This is a very lovely drama and impatiently waiting for the uncensored version if ever will get to see the deleted scenes on tv or dvd. Hope its not too much to request that you may be able to spare some of your time to continue translating this book. Waiting so earnestly…..you are really to be respected for this work!!!

Hi Thank you so much for translating. . but you left me brokenhearted when I can’t find the finished English translation of the whole novel. . Pls help us get the link of the continuation of the English translation of the rest of the chapters. I am forever grateful. .

This is my first time reading a chinese novel translated in english. I wish I could read the book but I am very thankful for the persons translating them. This will lve a lasting impression on me. If somebody has completely translated or summary until the end please notify me. I hope I get to the of this 😭😭😭